The Friends of the Jordan River Watershed Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, non-governmental organization with the mission to "Conserve the natural resources and protect the environmental quality of the Jordan River and its watershed".

Biomass - Up In Smoke, Burning The Future

Friends of the Jordan fully supports efforts to convert to green,
carbon neutral energy sources. Burning trees and tree products in
biomass plants, however, is NOT green, NOT carbon neutral and NOT
sustainable. Biomass plants harm our environment, public health and
the economy. We call on Governor Granholm to follow in
Massachusetts’ footsteps and call for a moratorium on renewable
energy credits for biomass plants. Better alternatives exist.

According to a team of top international scientists, wood-burning
biomass plants are considered carbon neutral because of an
“accounting error.” On line research news Science Daily wrote,
“Current carbon accounting, used in the Kyoto Protocol and other
climate legislation including the European’s cap and trade and the
America Clean Energy and Security Act, does not factor CO2 released
from tailpipes and smokestacks utilizing bioenergy, nor does it
count emissions from land use changes when biomass is harvested or
grown.” According to a US Department of Energy study, if not
corrected, this incentive could “globally lead to the loss of most
of the world’s forests as carbon caps tighten.”

What Does This Mean For Michigan?

*Five wood-burning biomass plants already operate in northern
Michigan. New plants are proposed in Mancelona, Traverse City,
Rogers City and Frankfort, and in the Upper Peninsula. Why the
sudden rush? Government subsidies (our tax dollars via the American
Recovery and Reimbursement Act) are paying up to 30% of the capital
costs for building biomass burners. These subsidies will expire in
less than 3 years, hence the drive to build as many new plants as
possible.

*13,000 tons of wood chips are required to generate 1 megawatt of
power for one year, or 35 tons of wood each day. The proposed
Mancelona plant will produce about 36 megawatts of power which would
consume over 1,200 tons of wood (the equivalent of approximately 28
clear cut acres) EACH DAY. According to Ben Brower, project manager
for Mancelona Renewable Resources, partner in the plant, fuel will
come from a combination of state, private and federal forest lands.
One megawatt supplies only 1,000 homes with electricity. How much of
our forests are we willing to sacrifice to a furnace for such a
small increase in power?

Underground roots of mushrooms called mycorrhiza, digest the dead
wood, thereby keeping the carbon which was stored up by the trees, in
the forest soil. Dead trees provide nutrients for new plant growth, food
for insects, which in turn feed birds and animals. They are necessary
for the cycle of life, necessary for forest biodiversity.

Will Biomass Plants Create Jobs and Affordable Energy?

*Biomass plants are receiving almost 75% of the renewable energy
subsidies, as opposed to wind or solar, according to Rachael Smolker,
Global Forest Coalition.

*The cost of biomass energy without government subsidies would be
substantially higher. And biomass plants will be competing with other
wood product users. As competition for limited forest land increases,
prices of everything from toilet paper to particle board, furniture,
housing and construction will increase. Is burning really a wise use of
our valuable forest resources?
*According to the Jobs and Energy for Michigan website, biomass plants
tend to be built in economically depressed communities with high
unemployment. The number of job opportunities these plants claim to
provide, however, is usually overstated and health care costs to the
surrounding communities rise due to large quantities of particulate
matter emissions.

*Northern Michigan is a mecca for snowmobilers, hunters, fishermen,
family camping and other outdoor activities. Cutting and burning our
forests upon which our tourist economy depends, does not make good
economic sense.

Better Alternatives Exist

*One lone windmill produces 1% of the energy produced by Traverse City
Light and Power Co.

*The Department of Energy named Michigan as one of the states with the
highest potential for wind manufacturing jobs in the nation. A recent
study by the Land Policy Institute at MSU indicates that over 300,000
megawatts of energy might be available off Michigan shores. This
represents the equivalent of hundreds of large (1,000 MW) coal plants.

*Michigan also has abundant supplies of natural gas. While a fossil
fuel, it emits only half the emissions of coal or biomass, and could be
used together with conservation, until other green technologies are in
place.

*Biomass plants are widely used in Europe. Since many of these countries
have already cut down the overwhelming majority of their trees, they
rely on imported wood from Asia, South America, Canada and the US to
stoke their biomass furnaces. Just one Swedish company, for example,
imports 400,000 metric tons of trees from Florida every year. Nestles
Corporation is already exporting Michigan water. What is to stop
international corporations from exporting Michigan forests as well?

Health Risk

*Burning wood releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere such as sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, dioxins and volatile organic compounds. Various irritant gases such as nitrogen oxide cause ground level ozone, or smog, which can scar lungs. Particulate matter releases are as high or higher than for coal. People living near biomass plants are at higher risk for cancer, asthma and other lung related diseases. The American Lung Association opposes biomass plants, stating that their emissions pose unacceptable health risks.

Is Biomass Carbon Neutral?

* Tree-burning biomass plants release 50% more CO2 into the atmosphere
than do coal burning plants. To claim biomass burning as carbon neutral
and sustainable because new trees can be grown is a hoax. Tree growth
cannot keep up with demand. It takes decades for a new tree seedling to
replace a larger tree in carbon storage capacity. But it takes only
minutes to release that carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through
burning. And what happens to the released carbon dioxide? According to
the US EPA (April, 2009), “… for a given amount of carbon dioxide
release today, about ½ will be taken up by oceans and terrestrial
vegetation over the next 30 years, and a further 30% will be removed
over a few centuries, and the remaining 20% will only slowly decay over
time such that it will take many thousands of years to remove from the
atmosphere.”

*Removing dead woody debris from forests leads to soil depletion and
compromises future growth. When a tree dies, the stored carbon is
released slowly, over decades or longer. Much of the rotting takes place
underground, as the tree falls down and is eventually covered with
leaves and soil.
Northern Michigan was once blanketed in pine forests, with
white pines often reaching over 200 feet tall and over 5 feet in
diameter. It took loggers a mere 20 years, between 1870 - 1890, to cut
most of those trees down. The population of Michigan at the time? A mere
1.6 million. Our population today is over 10 million, and our energy and
land needs have grown exponentially. Burning our forests for fuel is a
step back in time. We need to do all we can to protect the resources
that make Northern Michigan a unique and beautiful place to live and
visit.